A city councilor has commended five barangays in the city for their efficient implementation of the solid waste management.
Councilor Edgar Ibuyan, Jr., council committee chair on public works and highways, said Hizon, Gumalang, Mahayag, Tacunan and Catalunan Grande should be credited as the model barangays in the implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Ordinance.
Ibuyan based his commendation on the reports of the Interface Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), an environment group, that names the five barangays to have strictly implement the decade-old ordinance. The city has 182 barangays.
In a privilege speech during Tuesday’s session, Ibuyan said the five barangays are models of how barangays should be implementing the solid waste management ordinance.
He said that these barangays are strictly implementing the ordinance and that the whole city should be practicing the same.
Ibuyan said that based on the IDIS reports some barangays, especially those in the far-flung areas, do not observe proper waste management.
“This is because those areas have no Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) and the trucks of CENRO (City Environment and Natural Resources Office) could barely go there to collect garbage,” he said. “That’s why the people are forced to bury or burn their garbage, which is hazardous to the environment.”
The city’s Ecological Solid Waste Management Ordinance of 2019 “provides for the compulsory sorting of solid wastes at source by all waste generators, as well as the establishment of barangay-based material recovery facilities. The ordinance also bans the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags and polystyrene or foam as food containers.”
The ordinance carries a penalty of P300 fine and attend a seminar for the first offense, P500 fine or a five-day community service for the second offense and a P1,000 or a 10-day community service for the third offense. The fourth and succeeding offenses shall be dealt with at the court.
But Ibuyan said that some areas in the city are not observing the ordinance, and tons of wastes are still produced in the city.
“Other barangays are not complying and properly implementing local policies,” he said.
According to CENRO, the city is producing 400-600 tons of waste per day. These wastes are dumped at the sanitary landfill in Barangay New Carmen, Tugbok District. However, 30% of the garbage in the city are not merely from the households but these wastes are assumed to be thrown anywhere or burned.
“This city has a landmark ordinance on solid waste, and that strict adherence to both local and national laws on waste management would result in decreased production of garbage,” he said.
He also urged the public to practice and cooperate in the environmental-friendly activities.
“We are raising this concern in order to call for the strict implementation of the Solid Waste Management Law. All sectors in the city should cooperate in practicing waste segregation and implementing the ordinance. In addition, we need to influence our fellow Davaoeños to reduce their own waste consumption or waste production as this causes various environmental issues which are detrimental to the health of the people,” he said.
Ibuyan is a former captain of Barangay 5-A, which covers the Bankerohan Public Market. His father, Edgar Sr., is currently the Barangay 5-A chair and also serves as city councilor being the leader of the association of barangay captains of the city.
